Reasons to Go
by Butternut
Summary: This is from forever ago and I just never got around to uploading the 2nd chapter. Here it is now, read it if you want a brief stroll down memory lane.
1. Max POV

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to James Cameron, and some other really rich people.  
  
  
Reasons to Go  
  
Half an hour after leaving Logan's apartment, I was already out of Seattle. It's funny how after having gone through so much to stay, I made the decision to go in less than a minute. The rest of the time was spent packing, getting on my baby, and hauling ass out of there. I did stop to call the number Zack accidentally left behind, but wasn't really surprised to find it had been cancelled. I guess I'm used to not being wanted.   
I hadn't bothered thinking about my reasons for leaving. I already knew why I had fled, I had known it for a while, and I was tired of pretending otherwise. I love Logan. He, on the other hand, doesn't even want me around. So I was finally getting out of dodge, because I had lost my only reason for staying. I was feeling very proud of my resolve, when my pager went off. I thought that I had left it at the apartment, but there it was, hooked onto my belt, beeping away. Old habits may die hard, but breaking the pager was easy. All I had to do was throw it into the road, and watch the debris bounce just once as I flew past. I got at least a mile down the road, before I pulled over to look for a phone.  
Standing by the pay phone outside of a poor excuse for a gas station, I debated on why I was calling him. A part of me wanted to tell him off, to let him know that he was the reason I had finally left the city. The more soldier-like part of me didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he has hurt me. Finally, I dialed his number-I knew it by heart, just as I knew his voice and his face.   
"Where are you?"   
"Safe." I decided to play dumb. I was feeling much too emotional for an emotional scene.   
"Don't play dumb, Max." Busted. Fine, then. If he wants to talk, we'll talk but I'll be damned if I give him a scene.  
"I'm fine Logan. I'm out of Seattle, and headed for the vast sanctuary that Canada can provide me"  
"You really weren't going to say good bye, were you?" He actually sounded upset, and I felt a twinge of guilt. Then I remembered why I had left without a good-bye, and I hardened my resolve.  
"Sorry. There wasn't time."  
"You had time to write Original Cindy a note. Why didn't you write me a note?"  
"What are you, jealous?"  
He didn't answer, so I forged ahead.  
"Look, things were getting too hot in Seattle. I was going to leave with Zack, but we had some… scheduling problems. I'm meeting him soon," I was lying through my teeth, and doing a rather crappy job.  
"Did you manage to contact him then?"  
"Yeah."  
"I'm glad. When I called the number, I got a recording." Sneaky bastard. I had walked right into his trap.  
"I guess I called before you," I replied, lamely. "I set up a rendezvous with Zack." I felt like I was losing the battle, and tried to end the conversation right there.  
"Logan, I really have to…"  
"Max, I'm sorry about what happened at my apartment."   
Shit. That one definitely caught me by surprise. I hadn't expected him to play the truth card so soon. Maybe he was just trying to keep me on the line.  
"What are you…"  
"Stop. Just… let me explain. I promise that this will change everything."  
"Nothing you could tell me would change my leaving, 'cause it's not about you. At all." I was so sure about that. I was leaving, and there wasn't a damn thing he could say to make me change my…  
"I'm in the wheelchair again."  
I hung up before I even realized what I was doing. Damn him. This did change everything. It was one thing to run away from a hale and hearty Logan, but I couldn't leave him if he still needed me.   
Next thing I knew I was outside of his apartment again. My reason for coming back was almost the exact same reason I had used for leaving. I love him. And even if he doesn't love me back, I know that he needs me. For now, that will have to be enough.  
  
Obviously this isn't done, since Logan never really explained anything, but I've run out of momentum. Let me know if this is any good at all, and if I should bother writing another part.   
Oh, and I realize that Max is a little out of character, but I'm pretending that this is what she really thinks, and it's my story, so deal!   



	2. Logan POV

Disclaimer: I don't 'em.  
  
This isn't so much a continuation as it is a companion piece. It's the same chapter but from Logan's point of view.  
  
Reasons to Go (Part 1½)  
  
At first I felt a little bad. The last look Max had shot my way before walking out of the apartment was much more expressive than most of the glares she gives me. My guilt was soon washed away in a wave of pity, however. My legs weren't working right. Again. And even though it was ridiculous, it was pretty easy to be mad at Max because of the false hope her super-genetic blood had given me. I couldn't help but feel that it was unfair that it helped her to leap over tall buildings in a single bound, whereas I could still barely even stand up.  
  
In the midst of all my self-pity, the phone began to ring. It had to be Max. No one else would call this late. The little bit of happiness I felt at knowing she was worried enough to call was outweighed by my irritation at the interruption.  
  
"What?" I spoke sharply into the phone, shaping the word out of ice.  
  
"What the hell did you do, boy?" I was astonished to hear Original Cindy's voice on the other end of the line. We weren't exactly phone buddies. My surprise quickly passed as I realized the only reason she might have for calling me.  
  
"Max!" I exclaimed. "Is she alright?"  
  
"You tell me. All I know is that she skipped out of town and left Original Cindy with a lame note."  
  
"I'll find her. I'll get her back." I hung up without waiting for a reply, but if Cindy was anywhere near as panicked as I was, she'd forgive me. Max was gone. I couldn't wrap my brain around that thought, it seemed too impossible to be true. I had always expected that she'd leave Seattle one day, but I never imagined that it would be because of me.  
  
I reached for the phone again, and paged her, my fingers easily finding the sequence of keys I had dialed so many times before. The minute after I had finished dialing, I was already regretting my action. Now I was stuck here, in my apartment, waiting for her to call, instead of going out and doing something. I wasn't exactly sure what I could be out doing, but anything would be better than the torture of waiting for a phone call that might never come. I couldn't even call back Original Cindy to find out what she knew. If Max called while the line was busy, I would probably never hear from her again.  
  
I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually the phone rang. As I wheeled over to answer it, it suddenly occurred to me that I had been so concerned about finding Max that I had forgotten about my legs. She was the most important thing in my life.  
  
"Where are you?" I barked into the phone.  
  
"Safe," she answered flippantly. As relieved as I was to hear that she was alive and well, I was in no mood for games.  
  
"Don't play dumb, Max," I replied. If I was going to get her back in Seattle, then I would have to find a way to break down her emotional barriers.  
  
"I'm fine Logan. I'm out of Seattle, and headed for the vast sanctuary that Canada can provide me."  
  
She sounded so certain, so final. I wondered if I had a chance in hell of getting her back.  
  
"You really weren't going to say good bye, were you?"  
  
"Sorry. There wasn't time." No time? Or no time for me? The thought that if she cared for me even half as much as I did for her she would never have left tried to lodge itself into my mind, but I pushed it back out and continued searching for any signs that would provide me with hope.  
  
"You had time to write Original Cindy a note. Why didn't you write me a note?"  
  
"What are you, jealous?"  
  
I was jealous, but that was hardly the point. With every word she uttered, she seemed to be getting farther and farther away from me. Even as I stressed over what to say next, she was pulling farther away from her life here.  
  
"Look, things were getting too hot in Seattle. I was going to leave with Zack, but we had some. scheduling problems. I'm meeting him soon." I had always imagined Max would be a better liar then that. Instead of just calling her out on it, though, I decided to try to catch her off-guard.  
  
"Did you manage to contact him then?"  
  
"Yeah," she affirmed. Aha! I had her now. Hopefully, getting caught in a lie would fluster her enough that I could get past her defenses, and convince her to come home.  
  
"I'm glad. When I called the number, I got a recording."  
  
"I guess I called before you," she replied, lamely. "I set up a rendezvous with Zack."  
  
She was copping out! I was surprised that she would take the cowards' way out and I quickly interrupted her before she could say good-bye forever.  
  
"Max, I'm sorry about what happened at my apartment."  
  
There was a brief silence.  
  
"What are you."  
  
"Stop," I interrupted her again. I was running out of time. "Just. let me explain. I promise that this will change everything."  
  
"Nothing you could tell me would change my leaving, 'cause it's not about you. At all."  
  
"I'm in the wheelchair again." Damn. That was certainly not what I wanted to say, but it was too late. She had already hung up on me. I almost hoped that she got on her bike and kept right on driving towards Canada. Almost. I had wanted to get her to come home, but not with pity. Ah, who am I kidding? I'll take her any way I can.  
  
I wheeled over to the windows, and forced myself to look down at the street in front of my house, even though it made me feel scared and dizzy. I would wait here all night just to watch her come home. If she comes home. 


End file.
